The Boy Across The Hallway
by PastelLace
Summary: Kimiko Tohomiko wants to prove to her father that she doesn't need to depend on him or his money. When she moved into her new apartment, she never knew that the guy who lived across from her could be the worst neighbor she could ever imagine. RaiKim!
1. Guitar Solos At One In The Morning

**Author's Note: **This is an AU fic. Some, or others, are or will be OOC.

**Summary: **_Kimiko Tohomiko wants to prove to her father that she doesn't need to depend on him or his money. When she moved into her new apartment, she never knew that the guy who lived across from her could be the worst neighbor she could ever imagine. RaiKim!_

**Pairings: **Raimundo Pedrosa x Kimiko Tohomiko. Clay Bailey x Keiko.

**Rating T.** Just for your safety and mine.

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Xiaolin Showdown or any of its characters.

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><p><strong>Chapter 1: Guitar Solos At One In The Morning.<strong>

She should have known better. Her father was testing her. She should have known it _right_ from the start. She groaned when she felt her shoulder tense up as she dragged another case of shoes up the stairs. She wanted to prove to her father that she was independent. She didn't want her father to use his money to control her life.

Before she had even left for her flight, she had a nasty conversation with her father. His words were still echoing in her head.

"_You're not going to last a month without my money, Kimiko. So why do you even bother trying?"_

She would have asked someone from the floors below hers to help her carry her things from the taxi, but she decided she might as well start her independence at the door of the lobby. Plus, she was afraid of the men who lived on the first floor. They looked at her as if she was an expensive steak. She didn't really want to get to know them, and she really didn't want them to know what floor she lived on.

Sticking the key into the doorknob, she heard the lock click before the door swung open. Using the money her mother had given to her in her will; it covered the cost of rent for the next few months while she looked for a job. She didn't want to be like daughters of rich, wealthy businessmen who milked their father nonstop for money.

Sighing with relief, she wiped the bead of sweat off of her forehead as she grabbed a bottle of water off of the kitchen's counter top. Taking a sip, she eyed her apartment. It had taken her over an hour to bring up her possession without any help. She was about to reward herself by buying a new pair of shoes when she reminded herself that she had to be independent now.

She could still feel her father's credit card burning in her wallet. Before she had left, her father had handed her one of his many credit cards saying, "This is just in case." She knew what he had really wanted to say was, "Kimiko. You're not going to make it on your own. This is so that when you finally realized how foolish you are, you can use this to pay for your flights to come back home."

Blowing a strand of hair out of her face, she set the bottle of water back onto the counter top. She was glad that she didn't have to bring the flat-screen TV upstairs. Her best friend was supposed to come by later with her fiancée and help her bring up the heavier things. Until then, she had hours to kill.

"Might as well unpack," she said, chewing on her lower lip. She really didn't know where to start. "Keiko better come by soon or I'll be unpacking until I'm fifty."

-x-

"This building looks familiar," Keiko said as she watched her fiancée, Clay Bailey, push the TV across the living room. "No, honey. The TV needs to be a bit more to the right."

He grunted as a reply. "This is the finest TV I have ever seen in my entire life."

Kimiko grinned. "My father gave it to me as a 'going away' gift. He also gave me a sports car. He acts as if I can't do things myself."

"That was your car outside?" Clay said, his eyes widening with envy. He whistled. "Woo-wee, girl. Now tell me again why you want to leave a life of luxury for a life like this?"

Pouting at him, Kimiko said, "That life is very boring and dull. I want to live a life where my future's not planned out. Go with the flow. Things like that, you know?"

Keiko pursed her lips. "I'm glad that you're doing this, Kimiko. Show your dad how independent you are!" She grinned at her friends as she gave her friend a 'thumbs up' to show how she was supporting her friend. Frowning a bit, she said, "You know… I think it might sound strange, but I think I've been in this apartment building before. I've been in an apartment similar to this one."

Clay chuckled. "Many apartments look alike."

"You're right," Keiko said, smiling a bit. "I don't know what I was thinking." She looked at her friend who was sorting through the dishes next to her. "Can you believe it? I'm getting married to him in a month!"

Kimiko grinned at her friend. "I know! I'm happy for you, Kei. I really am. But right now, let's focus on unpacking, hmm? Perhaps later, we can all go out for dinner?"

Keiko shakes her head. "We're supposed to meet Clay's parents for dinner later. How about we hang out tomorrow? We can go to the mall and try out the new clothes."

"Women and their love for shopping," Clay muttered, shaking his head.

"Men and their love of football and cars," Kimiko shot back, causing Clay to grin at her.

"Touché," he said, tipping his hat at her before pushing the TV slightly a bit more. "Ladies, is the television in the _'perfect'_ location now?"

Glancing up from the dishes, Kimiko and Keiko exchanged looks.

"I guess," Keiko said in a distasteful tone. "Now be a man and help us unload these dishes."

"Will do, ma'am," he replied, as he sat down across from the two. His left brow slightly rose as he saw the picture of a cat on one of the many dishes in the box. "Do I even want to know?"

Kimiko stifled a giggle at the sight of the ghastly plate. "There was this guy who thought I liked them when we were window shopping together." She sighs. "I couldn't get rid of it, because it's not _lady-like_ for someone to throw away their gift or give it away."

Clay nodded. Coming from Texas, he knew a lot about hospitality, which was why he quickly understood what she was saying. "I think that my grandma has this pattern." He grinned, watching a grimace appear on her porcelain face.

Keiko slapped his arms. "_Clay. _Play nice. I think it's cute."

"You think everything's cute," Kimiko pointed out, causing Clay to chuckle.

"That's _so _not true," Keiko shot back, folding her arm over her chest as a scowl appears on her face.

Clay smirked at his fiancée. "I'm sorry, honey, but I agree with Kimiko. You think the sweater my aunt Janice sent us for Christmas was cute."

"Well, it was!"

"It had three arms," Clay pointed out, smiling at her. He looks at Kimiko. "Is she always like this?" he asked, teasing his fiancée.

"Afraid so," Kimiko said, going along with him. "Good luck, Bailey." She pulls out a wine glass and stares at it with a funny look on her face.

He nods at her. She was the sister he never had. Sure, he had a sister back at home in Texas, but Jessie was nothing like Kimiko.

"Well, Clay and I have to get going. I have to go meet his parents. Their flight should be arriving soon."

Kimiko beamed at her friends. "Have fun, you two."

Keiko nods at her friend. "This apartment still looks familiar…" She muttered as she and Clay walked out the door of Kimiko's apartment.

-x-

By the time she was finished unpacking the last box, it was around midnight. Her hands were dirty, there were smudges on her face, and her hair was untidily tucked under a blue patterned bandana. Throwing an oily rag onto her coffee table, she collapsed onto the sofa and blew a strand of hair out of her face. She was worn out, tired, and kept on picturing herself relaxing in her bathtub, trying out the bath salts that Keiko gotten her for her birthday.

Curling up on the couch, she watched the news for a bit as she slowly drifted off into a night sleep. That was when she felt the couch, along with her apartment floor, and everything else that wasn't nailed down started to shake, vibrating as she heard an electric guitar being played.

She groaned in despair, drowning out the loud music by grabbing the throw pillow and pushing it against her ears to keep the music out. Just as she had hoped would happen, the music slowly drifted to a stop. Smiling smugly to herself, she dropped the pillow onto the ground and turned so that she was facing the coach. She pulled her knees closer to her chest, at the brink of falling asleep when the music returned—louder than ever.

Groaning, she pulled herself off the coach. Grabbing the bat that her aunt had forced her to take with her as a safety precaution, she walked out of her apartment and looked down the hallway, trying to figure out where the sound was coming from. She knew that she was living on the top floor, so that meant that the person who was playing the loud music was only on her floor.

Propping the bat on her shoulder, she clutched onto it tightly as she kept her back against the wall to make sure that no one could sneak up from her from behind. Realizing that the volume of the music lowered as she walked further and further away, she quickly sprinted back towards her apartment. That was when she knew which apartment had the loud music.

"Why isn't anyone complaining?" she muttered in disbelief. She made a mental note to tell the apartment's supervisor about the music. Politely knocking on the door, she was wondering when the racket would stop. It felt like an hour as she waited in front of the door. Taking it up a notch, she started pounding on the door rapidly. She was too focused on knocking on the door to realize that the music had stopped.

"Can I help you?" the door quickly swung open, revealing a tall, towering young man. He ran his hand through his hair in a suave-like fashion; a smirk appeared on his face as his green eyes sparkled with mischief. "I didn't know that call girls come at one in the morning."

A scowl appears on her face as her eyes narrowed. "Ex-_cuse _me?" Hands on her hips, she snapped, "I am _not_ a call girl."

His eyes quickly examined her small body. "Too bad…" He looks at her. "Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"No! I—"

But before she could say anything else, he slammed the door in her face.

"Why… _that bastard!_" She started pounding on the door rapidly again. _If I had gone to the gym more, I would have been strong enough to kick down this door, _she thought to herself as she heard her knocking being drowned out by a guitar riff.

The door swung open once again. "I didn't know I have a fan _already_." He smiles at her. "How… cute."

"Can you turn it down?" she snapped, folding her arms across her chest. "There are some people that live here that aren't deaf from the sound of your crappy music yet."

He looks at her once again. "I've never seen you around before. New around here?"

She hesitated. "I live across from you." She jerked her thumb to point to the door behind her.

He nodded. "Cool." He looks at her. "Are we done now?" He asked, blankly. "I have _rehearsal_ to get back to."

"At one in the morning? Who would have guitar solos at _one _in the _morning_?" she demanded, narrowing her eyes. "I'll report you to the supervisors!"

"I'd like to see you try," he said, smirking at her. He folded his arms across his chest and slightly leaned against the frame of the door.

She scowls at him. "I think I will!" She said. She turned on her heels, and stormed off. Looking over her shoulder, she added, "And just so you know, I am _not _going to be nice about it."

"I'm so scared," he mocked, smirking at her. _This is going to be very interesting_, he thought as he was about to close the door.

"Shut up!" she shouted, giving him the finger.

"I'll dedicate my next guitar solo to you, princess." He slammed the door before she could say shout something obscene towards him.

She glared at the door with a shocked expression. "Do _not _call me _princess_!" And with that, she slammed her door.

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><p><strong>AN: **_"I start out with a sizzle, I end with a bang."_ This shall be my quote from now on. I just came up with it off the top of my head. XD**  
><strong>

As you can see (from this one and Bittersweet Love), I like to pair Keiko and Clay for some strange and odd reason. My reasons are: Kimiko is like a sister to Clay, and vice versa. Stories about how a girl falls in love with her best friend's brother are cute. Therefore, I ship Keiko and Clay. Since Keiko's best friend is Kimiko... Do the math. ^_^

What is a call girl? If you're wondering what a "call girl" is, it's a prostitute. A "classy" prostitute.

And if you're wondering, yes… that was Raimundo. Unlike _Bittersweet Love, _this fic is AU, fully AU, and nothing but AU. Lol.

I know that I'm still writing Bittersweet Love... but I hate just working on just one RaiKim story (not one-shot).

Therefore, I shall write this one and the other one. Plus, this one will be better (in my opinion) since it doesn't focus on Heylin/Xiaolin dragons and what not. That's why this one is fully AU, not partly AU.

Anyways...

**Comment and review? It'll be very much appreciated.**


	2. Hi Neighbor

**A/N: **Thank you for all of those who reviewed/commented/read the first chapter. I really, really, really (times infinity) appreciated it.

This story has a better plotlines than my other one—my other one's a "Plot as you go" whilst this one already have an outline.

Without a further ado…

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><p><strong>Chapter 2: Hi Neighbor.<strong>

Hearing a loud pounding noise at the door of her apartment was the worst way for her to wake up. Tired and grouchy, she got out of bed to storm towards the door. _Please don't be that asshole. Please! _She thought to herself as she unlocked the door. Slowly opening the door, her left brow slowly shot up.

"Clay?" she muttered in disbelief. She self-consciously ran her fingers through her hair to find, in dismay, her hair was still messy.

He took his hat off and held it in his hands. "Keiko wanted me to ask you if you wanted to come to _brunch_ with us." He scrunched his nose as if he despised the thought of doing so.

"Brunch?" her brows knitted together. "What's that?"

"Well, Keiko's fascinated with it. It is lunch and breakfast _combined_. Between the two time periods too, I supposed." Clay shuddered. "It's just not right. Lunch should just be served at lunch; and same goes with breakfast."

She giggled. "Why mess with 'nature', right?"

He eyed her for a second. "Right."

"You know, Clay, I think I'm going to like being friends with you," Kimiko said, grinning at him.

"Likewise, Ms. Tohomiko." He grinned at her. "Now, can you get ready? Keiko's not a woman of patience, you know."

She shrugged. "If you insist. There's just one thing that I've got to take care of, first."

-x-

"I'll go wait in the car," he said, uncomfortable with the fact that she was about to disrupt a family's Sunday afternoon. "We still have to pick Keiko up from the beauty salon."

"I'll be out in a sec," she replied, thinking of what to say ahead of time. If there was one thing that she had learned from her father was to plan ahead. Tactics always comes out in your favor when you plan ahead; and that was a lesson she was going to take to the grave.

He shrugged. "Alright-y then." He whistled as he strolled off, his hands in his jean pockets. "I'm the one with the rust mobile. You can't miss it."

After waiting for him to be out of earshot, she turned her attention to the door in front of her. "Alright. Let's do this," she muttered, reassuring herself that everything would go smoothly. Knocking on the door, she waited for someone to reply.

The door opened, revealing a tall man, around his mid 20's. His light green eyes were full of concern as he said, "Can I help you?"

"Yes. I need to talk to the owner of the building," she replied, folding her arms across her chest. "I don't have all day."  
>He nodded. "I'll go get my father, then. I'll be right back, miss." He quickly walked away from the door, giving her a better view of the room.<p>

Pictures were framed left and right, along with ornaments and other precious heirlooms.

She would have inched a little closer to the door so she could see the faces on the family group shot, but before she could attempt to do so, an older man appears.

"You must be our new tenant, Miss Tohomiko," the elderly man said as he reached the door. "I'm Jorge Pedrosa," he said, giving her a kind smile. "What can I do for you miss?"

Sighing, Kimiko said, "There's _one _thing that's been bothering me lately." She pointed to the ceiling with her index finger. "A _very _infuriating _guitar_ soloist just doesn't know when to quit."

Mr. Pedrosa looked at his son, who was standing next to him, and shook his head. "That boy… I'll see what I can do."

"Really?" Kimiko's eyes sparkled as she sighed with relief. "You're really kind, sir."

He smiled at her. "It's no big deal, really."

"That's because everyone else has already complained," the young man said, rolling his eyes. "I'm Edwin Pedrosa, his sixth son. If you need anything else, you can always ask me for help. Dad's always too busy with his poker buddies."

Kimiko laughed. "Don't worry. Just as long as you keep my neighbor from playing that horrible, retched sound that kept me up all night, I'll be alright."

-x-

"So, Kimiko," Keiko said as she pushed her black-dyed hair behind her shoulder. She clasped her hands together, propped her elbows on the table counter, and said, "Have you considered what job that you wanted?"

Kimiko choked on her drink. Setting her glass back onto the table, she softly said, "I haven't, Kei. I don't know what I'm good at."

"I don't believe that," Clay said as he broke a breadstick in half. He pointed one of the pieces at her. "Everyone has something great they can do. You just need time to find your calling."

She sighed. "Clay. I'm kind of used to spending my dad's money, left and right. I've never worked a day in my life."

"You've got to start sometime," Keiko said. "You need to support yourself. Using your dad's money only makes it worse. If you want to be independent, get a job."

Kimiko nodded. "I know I should start soon. But I need to brainstorm and figure out what I want to do in life before I get a job."

"That's a good idea," Keiko said. "But until you get a job, I think I'll force you to help me plan the wedding. I need all the help I can get. After all, my morning is busy… every Monday to Friday."

"Hmm?" Kimiko said, confused. "Oh. That's right. You're a kindergartener teacher." It was hard for her to imagine her friend as a teacher. She couldn't picture Keiko being motherly towards her students at all.

Keiko grinned at her friend. "And darn proud of it too." She sighed. "Please, Kimiko. I need all the help I can get."

Kimiko sighed, realizing that her best friend was pulling the puppy-dog look. "Alright, fine. But the second I get a job, I'm not going to be of much use anymore."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Keiko screamed, pulling her friend into a hug. "You're the best!"

"I know," Kimiko muttered, mentally kicking herself for agreeing to help Keiko with the wedding. "What are best friends for?"

-x-

By the time she had came home to her apartment, it was already around seven o'clock. What was supposed to be just brunch with Clay and Keiko turned into sightseeing the city and dinner as well with the two of them. Tired, warn out, and glad that her neighbor wasn't playing his ridiculous music, she walked into her apartment and froze.

Her TV was on with a football game on the screen. Dropping her keys out of shock, she wished she had her can of pepper spray with her. "Who's there?" she called out, mentally kicking herself once again. _You're just asking to be attacked, _she thought to herself.

Turning on the lights, she realized that the living room was empty. Picking up a bat, she dragged it on the ground as she checked her bathroom, guest room, and then her room. Realizing no one's there, she turned around to put her bat back to where it was when she saw a drunken man standing right in front of her.

Letting out a scream, she swung the bat violently at the man as she made a run for it. She made a mental note to get a padlock for her apartment door as she swung the bat at the man again.

The man, who stunk of sweat and alcohol, lunged for the bat, which only caused another scream to escape from her throat. Both of them were struggling as they tried to gain the upper hand.

The next thing she knew, the man's eyes went wide as if something struck him from behind, crumpling onto the floor in front of her. Behind the man, her neighbor from across the hallway was holding a frying pan in his hands.

She pushed her bangs out of her eyes as she dropped her bat. "Hi neighbor…" she said, a bit uncomfortable to realize her neighbor from across the hall was in her apartment. Looking at the unconscious figure, she couldn't help but panic when she realized how awfully still he was. "Did you kill him?" she asked, her heart pounding even more than usual.

"I save your life and you ask me that?" her neighbor replied. He got down on one knee and pressed two fingers against the man's neck. "I feel a pulse. He's still alive." He looked up at her. "Let me guess… this was a date gone sour. He wanted more than just dinner?"

She scowled at him. "I don't know who this man is."

"Princess, this building is safe," he replied before adding, "_most _of the time. The only way robbers and creeps can get into one's apartment is if the person was dumb enough to leave the door unlocked."

Blushing at the realization that she wasn't sure if she had in fact locked her door or not before she had left her apartment, she said, "I am not dumb!"

"It's alright. I'm pretty sure it was an honest mistake," he replied, causing her to scowl at him. "Let's get drunk Willy out of here before he gets himself in more trouble."

She looked at him. "He's done this before?"

Looking at her, he said, "He's been through a lot. He's drinking through the pain. I'll drag his body out of the apartment soon. Poor guy. He doesn't even know which apartment floor his apartment is on."

She sighed. "Thanks."

"It's no big deal," he said, flexing his muscle as he stretched his arms. "Now, what the big deal is that you thought you could have stopped me from playing my guitar."

She looked at him. "Oh… that."

"Yes, that. If you had wanted me to give you a personal performance, all you had to do was ask," he teased. "But seriously, just because you complained won't stop me from playing."

"I'm sure others have complained too!" she protested as she watched him drag the drunken man out of her apartment. She followed him as he hoisted the man's arm over his neck.

"They have, but now they're used to it," he replied. "It wasn't like they could have gotten me to stop anyway."

"And why not?" she demanded.

"I told you that you wouldn't be able to get me to stop playing," he said as he started to ascend down the stairs.

"Why not?" she demanded again, following him.

"Because this building is my parent's," he said casually. "I can get away with anything, really."

"But your dad—"

"My father's not the boss of me," he said coldly. "He never supported me from day one, when I told him that I wanted to be in a band. My mother is. She knows how passionate I am about my band. I'm not going to let anyone, including you, princess, get in my way from achieving my dream."

She sighed, folding her arms against her chest. "Fine. I'll learn to sleep with earplugs or something. I already did sign a two-year contract to this building…" she muttered as they turned on the floor below them.

She watched him prop the drunken man against the wall near a door at the end of the hallway. He then turned back and headed up the stairs.

"You should be lucky that I came to rescue you from him, or else drunken Willy would have thought you were his beloved Delilah," he replied, causing her to grimace.

"Thank you…"

"Raimundo_," _he said, realizing that she had wanted his name.

"Rai," she said, "for 'rescuing' me."

"I don't do nicknames—"

"Too bad, _Rai._ Continue to call me 'princess' and I'll continue to call you 'Rai'."

He couldn't help himself when the word, "Princess" escaped from his lips.

"The nickname stays, Rai." She gives him a toothy, childish grin.

They were at the end of the hallway, standing in the middle of the hall, between their two apartments.

He was about to walk away when she called his name once again. Turning to look over his shoulder, he realized that she was standing at the doorway of her apartment.

"Do you want some coffee?" she asked, secretly plotting something in her head.

His left brow rose, not sure on what she was implying. "Sure?" _Eh. Free food's free food,_ he thought to himself as he headed into her apartment.

The next thing he knew, he was installing a lock to her door, while she sat down next to him, holding two mugs of coffee in her hands.

He couldn't help but shake his head in disbelief, confused on how he ended up doing this for her. "You're lucky that you're a cutie, or else I wouldn't have agreed to help you out at all," he grunted as he dropped a screwdriver into the toolbox next to him.

Her cheeks flushed as she looked down at her mug. "Sorry… it's just; I don't know how to do this."

He sighed. "I can't believe I'm going to do all this labor for just a mug of cheap coffee."

She grinned at him. "What else do you want? Name it, and it's yours—" She paused, slapping herself in the forehead. "I forgot. I want to prove to dad that I don't need him anymore…"

He couldn't help but snort. "So you're one of those rich girls who wants to prove to their dads that they can do alright without their money." He looked at her. "You wouldn't last a week."

She scowled at him. "Do you want your coffee served to you or on you?"

"Do you want me to install this lock or not?" he shot back. With an idea popped into his head, he said, "I'll only finish this if you go on a date with me."

She nearly dropped the two mugs out of her hands. "_What?"_

"Come on, now. We're all adults. You're cute. I'm sexy as hell," he said, wagging his brows at her. "It's not like you're going to be able to call a lock smith at this time of night. I know you won't be able to sleep without knowing that this lock is installed."

She sighed. "If a date is what it takes, then a date it is."

He grinned at her as he closes his tool box. Taking a sip of coffee, he waited for her to get antsy.

"Well?" she demanded. "Can you hurry it up? I don't have all night to wait for you to finish, you know."

He laughed, clutching onto the mug of coffee. "I finished just before I asked you out."

"What?" She lunged for him, only for him to jump away from her. He took another sip of coffee before saying, "I'll pick you up at two tomorrow. Wear comfortable shoes." And with that, he ran off before she could chase after him and splash him with her mug of coffee.

She watched him run into his apartment. Rolling her eyes, she slammed the door right away.

Walking towards her room with her mug in hand, she couldn't help but say, "I can't believe it. First I get screwed into helping Keiko with her wedding planning… Then I get _tricked _into going on a date with _him?"_ Shaking her head in disbelief, she muttered, "Unbelievable."

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **I think I've established their ages. Kimiko and Keiko are 23. Clay's 25. Raimundo's 24.

I'm kind of iffy on the other chapters to come, which is why there's not that much RaiKim in this story. I've got to develop the story's main plot just a wee bit before working on the characters. I don't know why, I'm just like that.

Do not worry about drunk Willy. He didn't mean to attack her- he was just drunk and thought that she was his wife. He wasn't trying to attack Kimiko. He was trying to give his wife "some hugs and kisses". XD ...

If you have any ideas or suggestions for future chapters to come, PM me with some of your ideas. :D

**Comment/review? It'll be very much appreciated!**


	3. Worth Every Step

**Chapter 3: Worth Every Step**

Raimundo let out a sigh as he waited for his band mates to show up. Sitting at a small circular table in a small and cozy diner, he leaned back as he took another sip of coffee. "The guys should pay me more," Raimundo muttered to himself, pissed off. "I'm the only one who's taking this seriously."

As if on cue, the chair across from him is soon occupied with the bassist of his band, Jermaine. Jermaine's curly black hair was mostly hidden under a beanie, a new fashion statement that he was trying to pull off. "Sorry for showing up late," Jermaine said curtly. "Traffic was _brutal_."

"You don't have a car. Plus, you live, like, right across the street from this place," Raimundo pointed out. "And where's Omi?"

Jermaine shrugged. "Chill, dude. We'll get signed to a contract. Don't worry about it—"

"Sorry," Raimundo replied, his shoulders slightly sagging. "I'm just so nervous right now. I just keep on thinking, 'What if we don't get signed?' I'd hate to go back to work after all of this is over."

"While we wait for Omi, let's talk about something that won't kill our mood for the rest of the day. Did you hear about our old buddy, Clay?"

Raimundo's brows furrowed at the mentioning of the band's ex-drummer. "What about him?"

"He's getting married! He needs a band to perform at his wedding, you know." Jermaine motioned for one of the waitress. "Wedding gigs are the best because it'll bring us a lot of attention."

The waitress had a hand on her hip, the other holding a yellow notepad in her other hand. "Like, what can I, like, get for you?" she asked, blowing a bubble from the bubble gum she was chewing. "Like, I don't have, like, all day."

Jermaine sighed as he said, "French toast, waffles, and don't hold out on the whip cream."

"Trying to die of a heart attack, I see," Raimundo said, smirking at his friend.

"Hey. A way to a man's heart is with food," Jermaine said. The waitress rolled her eyes as she walked off. "She's totally into me," Jermaine whispered to Raimundo, causing him to roll his eyes.

"Right. She's totally into you," Raimundo said, hoping that his friend realized that his tone suggested nothing but sarcasm.

"It's all part of my six month plan," Jermaine added in an overly-confident tone. He quickly grinned when he saw the drummer of their band scurrying through the door of the diner. "He finally showed up."

"Pardon my tardiness," the shortest of the trio said as he pulled a chair from a nearby table. He chuckled nervously before saying, "I hope you two didn't want for me."

"We were just talking about Clay's engagement—"

"It shocked me a lot," Omi said, cutting Jermaine off. "I am the most handsome man on this earth, and I have yet to snag a wife. While Clay is attractive, he's just not as attractive as I am."

"If you keep on thinking of yourself like that, you'll never 'snag' yourself a wife," Jermaine shot back, snickering.

Raimundo rolled his eyes. "Same goes to you, Jer."

"Have you not seen Lisa?" Jermaine muttered, looking at the waitress who was leaning against the counter, wearing a blank, bored expression.

Raimundo sighed. Glancing at the clock hanging over the door, he smirked. _At least I have a date. No dying alone with hundreds of cats for Raimundo_, he thought as a smirk appears on his face.

-x-

Sitting in her living room on the cold, tiled floors, she started circling jobs that interested her. Her dark hair had been tied into a messy bun ever since she had woken up early at six in the morning. Chewing at the bottom of her pen, she started to second-guess whether or not she could even get a job, especially with no experiences working at all.

Her handy-dandy PDA was on the coffee table near her, constantly reminding her that she had a date with her infuriating neighbor and she had to go help Keiko find "_the dress"_.

Not willing to be defeated, she decided to call the one person in her life that promised to be there for her, no matter what.

"Hello?"

"Aunt Hikari?" Kimiko said, trying to sound as frantic as possible.

"Kimiko? How's my favorite niece?"

"In dire need of your help."

"What do you need?"

"I need a job," Kimiko said. "Badly. I don't want to depend on daddy anymore."

A sigh. "I'll see what I can do. You're lucky that you have an aunt that knows practically everybody. By the end of the day, I'll make sure you have a job. What do you want to do, though?"

"I want to be in something with fashion," Kimiko said, grinning. It had been her dream growing up to design something that would make a statement in the fashion industry. "Or something interesting."

"I'll see what I can do," her aunt repeated before hanging up. After a few minutes gone by as she nervously waited for her aunt to call back, her aunt finally did so.

"I know this one job that's perfect for you, Kimiko."

-x-

"Aww, you've actually dolled yourself up for me," Raimundo said, grinning when he saw her emerge from her room. "Just like I told you to last night. I'm touched, princess."

Wearing a white dress with small red roses patterned onto it, accompanied with a red cardigan, a yellow belt at the waist, and golden flats, it made her feel confident for once. After all, it's been days since she's been dressed in anything that wasn't casual. "Shut up," she said, folding her arms across her chest. "Where are we going?"

He grinned. "That's the surprise. I'm not going to tell you until we get there."

She rolled her eyes. "Let's get this over with," she said. "I have a busy day ahead of me."

With a raised brow, he said, "I didn't know you have other dates to."

"What? I don't—"

"Now that you've told me so, I'll make sure to prolong everything," he said. "Just to delay your day, princess."

She sighed, cursing the fact that she had to open the door when he stopped by. She had expected her aunt to show up with some news, but she got him instead. "Whatever. Just as long as I'm not in the house dreading today then I'm totally fine with it."

He shrugged. "So, care to tell me more about yourself?" The two of them had already made it to the bottom floor by then, stepping outside onto the pavement outside the apartment complex.

She looked at him before saying, "I grew up being an only child."

"Really?" he said, trying to put his arm around her shoulder only for her to shoot him a dirty look. Pulling his arm away and trying to nonchalantly turn it into a arm stretch, he said, "Rich and an only child. You must have been really spoiled growing up."

"I wasn't that spoiled," she replied hotly. "I didn't want to be spoiled—daddy just wanted to spoil me."

"Po-tay-to, po-tah-to. Same thing," he said, causing her to scowl at him.

"It is not the same thing," she replied, crossing her arms. Marching ahead of him, she stated, "You're lucky that when I agree to something, I do it or else I wouldn't be here right now—" Before she could even finish her sentence, she felt his hands grab her waist. She let out a scream as she whirled around. "How dare you—"

Before she could even finish her sentence, a cargo truck whizzed on by, causing the skirt of her dress to float in the sudden breeze caused by the passing-by truck.

"You're welcome, _princess_," he said smugly as he folded his arm over his chest. "_For _saving your life, I might add. What did you think I was trying to do?"

Her face reddens. "Nothing."

"You lie, princess," he said. He stretched his arms as he asked, "You think you'll be comfortable walking in those shoes for the next thirty minutes?"

"What?" She glared at him.

"Chill, it'll probably take twenty tops—"

"I don't care about how long it takes, I'm more focused on the walking part of it," she snapped. "Don't you have a car?"

"I have a van, but it's the band's van. I do not want to spend ten minutes trying to get it out of the garage," Raimundo said. "Besides, it's better for the environment if the car spends less time on the road."

She mumbled something under her breath before saying, "You better not make me regret this."

"Do you want me to carry you on my back?"

"No!"

"Fine. Just letting you know, by the time we get there, you'll realize it's worth every step."

"Is it worth the pain?"

-x-

By the time they reached the location, he was carrying her on his back. She kept on yelling in his ears to move faster so that she could get out of the sun faster, despite the fact that it was already the middle of November and the sun was hidden by drifting clouds, and he kept on threatening to force her to walk home, even though he knew he wouldn't send her home. Bantering back and forth, the two of them kept each other amused.

She was his kind of women. Feisty, beautiful, and funny. Not like his many exes, where they would constantly bore him with discussions about nail polish, hairspray, and shoes.

"Told you that you would realize it was worth every step," he remarked as she jumped off his back.

She raised a brow the second their eyes met. Gazing into his emerald orbs, she said, "A tree? This was worth every step? I don't think so, pal."

He snorted. "Not the tree. The fountain behind it, _Einstein_." He pointed towards the marble multi-columned fountain, where water kept on shooting off the top, as well as the side of the bottom column.

Her eyes crinkled as a smile appeared on her face. "You're one of those guys."

"I'm one of those what?"

She shrugged, giving him a friendly smile for once. Every date she has ever been on before consisted of three things: an annoying rich mama's boy, an expensive restaurant, and the date becoming more and more of a snoozefest for her. She never wanted to date a rich boy anyway. They always expected everything to come to them easily, especially women. "Forget what I said."

"Well, in that case… this is an amazing place," he said as they sat down on the marble tiles of the bottom column of the water fountain. "Great scenery, bakery close by that has the best croissants ever, café shop nearby with the best coffee for coffee addicts like me, and the water fountain gives off this illusion that this place is even more magical than Disneyland itself."

She giggled, surprised at seeing the softer side of him. "Girls must be lining themselves up for Mr. Romantic, himself."

His brows furrowed as he slowly said, "I'm not _that _romantic. Some girls just deserve to be treated better. And I favored my mother more than my father. Mother always said, a way to a girl's heart is to get in touch with your romantic side."

"If you hadn't asked me out and you told me that, I would have thought you were gay," she said.

He scowled at her. "I'm not gay—"

Before any of them could say anything else, her Smartphone went off. Picking it up before the song went into its chorus; she scowled when she realized it was Keiko.

"What do you want?" Kimiko asked, staring at Raimundo as she waited for her friend to reply. When he looked at her, she glanced away to avoid awkward eye contact.

"One of my coworkers offered to watch my kids for the rest of the day. I'm free for the rest of the day, baby! We can go dress shopping—"

"Can't," Kimiko immediately cut her off, before Keiko could say another word. She didn't want to leave the date yet. Not when the date barely started.

"Why not?"

She hesitated. "I'm… on a date."

"_What?_ This is unbelievable. I've asked you to help me and now you… Wait. Who?"

"It's my neighbor," Kimiko said. "I thought he was an ass at first, but he turned out to be quite nice. He took me to this really cute place."

"That's why you never judge a book by its sexy cover," Raimundo whispered, receiving a smack on the chest.

Keiko sighed. "You know what, forget it. I'll go get the dress myself. Some help you are."

"Kei, wait!" She sighed, cursing under her breath when she realized her best friend had hanged up on her.

"What's wrong?" Raimundo asked, slightly curious and concerned.

"It's nothing, really," Kimiko said slowly. "She can't stay mad at me forever. She's just upset that I can't go with her to get her dress—"

He grinned. "I see. Your priorities are with me, not her. I feel touched, Princess. I always thought that girls picked their friends over boys."

She shrugged. "Or I just don't want to go dress shopping with Bride-zilla. God knows what could happen on her wedding planning rampage."

His left brow quickly shot up the second she mentioned the word "Bride." "Is it me, or is everybody getting married these days?"

She shrugged. "Who knows?"

Realizing that there was an awkward tension between the two of them ever since their conversation had somehow ended up focusing on marriage, he decided to change the subject. "Let's go get those croissants that are to die for." He extended his right hand, waiting to see how she was going to react.

She hesitated. After a few seconds passed, she took his hand. "You _better _not make me regret this."

"I'll try, princess. I'll try," he teased.

* * *

><p>So. That was chapter 3. Not much happened here (because I already have an idea what's going to happen in the next chapter), but at least I've introduced all of the main characters: Kimiko, Raimundo, Clay, Keiko, Jermaine, and Omi. And I've also introduced "the main problems"conflict: Rai's band needs to get a contract with a record label. Kimiko needs a job. Keiko's and Clay's wedding is in a few weeks.

I'm kind of curious to see what you guys think will be where Kimiko is going to be working soon. It'll be very interesting where she's going to be working at (in the end of this fic). But rests assure knowing that the end of this fic won't be near (yet).

I'm still thinking up of a band name for Raimundo's band where Raimundo's the guitarist and vocals, Jermaine is the bassist, and Omi's the drummer.

I'm kind of disappointed that I couldn't fit Clay more into this chapter (except for a few mentions here and there), because he's going to play a big part in helping Kimiko become a dependant woman. He's like a big brother to her, and I really want to use that or try to fit it in.

**Comment/Review? It'll be very much appreciated.**


	4. Questions

**Chapter 4: Questions  
><strong>

It's been three weeks since Kimiko had started working at her new job. At first, her hopes were high when she had found out that her job had gotten her a job to work at some new fashion industry that had just started. In three weeks, she found out that her favorite heels were not appropriate for work, as they gave her discomfort as she followed one of the designers she had been assigned to assist.

The second thing she learned was that everyone that worked there was on a coffee high, which caused her to always go on a coffee run. She didn't mind at first, since she was trying to be helpful. After a while, spending ten minutes going to get coffee and spending another ten minutes coming back, three times every day started to become tedious for her.

"I'm telling you. You should quit," Keiko muttered, watching her friend count the paper cups on the trays. "They're over-working you. Don't they all have assistants?"

"They all quit after day three or four," Kimiko replied, blowing a strand of hair out of her face. "Which was probably why they hired me right away. Besides, you know that I am not a quitter." She glanced over her shoulder and gave Keiko a weak smile. "And even if I do quit, I'll be out of a job. Plus, it'll make me seem ungrateful towards my aunt."

"She'll understand," Keiko protested. She sighed, realizing that her words wouldn't convince her to quit her job. "So, how's your new _boyfriend_?"

Kimiko immediately turned pink. "He's not my boyfriend. We're just—"

"Uh huh," Keiko interrupted, smirking at her friend. She wagged her finger. "If I didn't know any better, I would have said that you were blushing." Her eyes narrowed. "Come on, Kimiko. Spill!"

"It's nothing, really," Kimiko said, shrugging as she handed one of the three trays to Keiko. She immediately cursed herself for not bringing in more reinforcements to help her bring the coffee into her car. "We decided to take things slow. And he's sweet. He really is."

Keiko frowned. "He could be sweet because you're holding out on him—"

"Keiko!"

"I'm just saying," Keiko said, batting her eyes innocently. She grinned when she saw that Kimiko was struggling to open the door while trying to keep the trays in her hands from falling over. She rolled her eyes, set the tray in her hands on the table and opened the door for her.

"Thank you," Kimiko said, slowly walking out the entrance.

"So, how is the mystery man sweet?" Keiko asked, slightly annoyed that she had no idea who Kimiko was seeing.

"He always sends me flowers to work," Kimiko said, shrugging.

"Seems stalker-ish to me," Keiko said. "If he knows where you work."

"Of course he knows where I work," Kimiko pointed out, as if she was trying to state the obvious. "I forced him to help me get coffee once."

Keiko grinned. "Well. I have ten minutes before lunch is over for my students. I have to get back before one of my kindergartener thinks that his teacher got eaten by the monster in his closet… _again_."

"Bye!" Kimiko said, waving her fingers at her. She watched Keiko turned around and walked off in the other direction. She was grateful that Keiko wasn't mad at her for canceling on her three weeks earlier. Keiko could never stay mad at anyone for that long.

-x-

"You guys should know that I'm glad that you guys accepted to play at the wedding," Clay said, trying to break the tension that was thick in the air. He sighed when he realized that Raimundo wasn't going to talk to him.

Omi rolled his eyes. "We should thank you for giving us an opportunity to play, right Jermaine?" He jabbed his elbow into Jermaine's chest.

Jermaine's eyes widen in shocked. Looking to his right, he realized that Omi was talking to him. "Hmm? Oh, yes. We are _so_ grateful." He spun his index finger half-heartedly to try to exaggerate his so-called excitement.

Clay grinned. "Okay." He glanced over at Raimundo nervously, waiting for the Brazilian to have one of his famous dramatic outbursts. He was stunned to find Raimundo quiet, busily texting away on his cell phone. "What's with him?"

"He has a _girlfriend_," Jermaine whispered, shrugging. "I've met her before. She's really funny."

"What?" Omi screeched. "Raimundo told me that he wasn't going to introduce any of us to her."

"He's probably afraid that you'd scare her off," Jermaine replied, grinning at his friend. "I'm just kidding. I bumped into her while trying to crash at Raimundo's pad."

"So he's dating his neighbor?" Clay's nose scrunched up. "Won't that get messy if the two of them broke up?" He could already picture a girl screaming and throwing things at Raimundo as he runs for refuge in his apartment.

"He," Jermaine jerked his thumb at Raimundo, "is falling for her madly. She wants to take things slow."

Raimundo looked up from his cell phone at that very moment. "_What_?" he snapped, raising one of his bushy eyebrows.

"Nothing. It's just; I haven't seen you like this since…" Clay trailed off, realizing that if he didn't want any more tension between Raimundo and him. "You know who."

"Voldemort?" Omi asked, confused.

"Not 'You-Know-Who,' you dork," Jermaine muttered. "He's talking about… you know…"

"Oh," Omi's eyes widen. He glanced over at Raimundo, waiting for his reaction.

"I don't care about 'you know who' anymore," Raimundo said, shrugging. "I've met someone new… someone who won't take me for a ride and use me… no offense."

"So, we cool?" Clay asked.

Jermaine and Omi immediately inhaled sharply. They both looked at Raimundo, who wore a blank expression.

"We're cool," Raimundo said.

"And all is right in the world again," Jermaine said, a grin appearing on his face.

"So," Clay said, throwing his arm around Raimundo's shoulders. "Who is this girl that you're going all 'gaga' for?"

"This girl who lives across from me," Raimundo said, a Cheshire grin appearing on his face. He couldn't help but smile. The thought of her always made him smile. "She just moved in a few weeks ago."

"Funny," Clay said, looking at his friend. "Even I know someone that just moved in a few weeks ago."

"Really?" Raimundo blinked. "It's just a coincidence. Anyway," he gestured to his cell phone that were in his hands, "I sent my younger sister Zoe to check the floral shops to see if there's any irises and orchids since I had to come to this meeting."

"Flowers?" Clay muttered. "Things are getting serious between Raimundo and this new girl," he said, giving Raimundo a sly grin.

"He's totally crazy for her," Jermaine added, grinning like a fool.

"I haven't seen him crazy for anyone since Voldemort," Omi said, scratching his head.

"No, you idiot. We're not talking about Voldemort. We're talking about… you know who," Raimundo said. "We just don't want to say her name because we don't want to create tension between Raimundo and Clay."

"So, who is this girl that you're going crazy over?" Clay asked, choosing to ignore Jermaine's and Omi's comments.

"Like I said, the girl who just moved in across from me. Kimiko."

-x-

"Hey, sweetie!" Keiko said, sliding into the passenger seat. She frowned when she realized how quiet Clay was. "What's wrong?"

"How common is the name, 'Kimiko?'" Clay asked, ignoring her question.

"Not _that _common, sweetie," Keiko replied. She cocked her head and looked at him in confusion. "Why?"

"Because I think I just solved your question," Clay muttered, shaking his head in disbelief.

"What question?"

"You remember how you've been dying to know who Kimiko's been seeing for the last few weeks?" Clay asked, trying to remain calm.

"Yes. She still won't tell me who it is—"

"Well. You don't need her to tell you who it is. You already know him."

"Who is it?" she demanded, staring at her fiancée.

Clay let out a huge sigh. "Raimundo Pedrosa."

-x-

"Sorry that there weren't any Irises left," Zoe Pedrosa, Raimundo's sixteen-year-old sister said, sitting down on one of the few kitchen stools. She pushed her light brown hair over her shoulder before saying, "You sure you don't want roses? Roses are more romantic than other flowers."

"Roses are so overrated," Raimundo replied. sighing. "You sure you want to crash the night? Dad will have a cow when he finds out that his only daughter is crashing at his least favorite son's apartment."

"So? Mom will have a cow if there are too many people in her apartment. Besides, you're her favorite son. She loves you, so dad has to love you too."

"Gee, thanks."

"I'm going to play with your bass, okay?" Zoe asked, jutting her head towards the wall near his balcony, where three guitars, one drum kit, four microphones, and one hot pink bass were lying.

He nodded. Turning his attention back to the dishes in front of him, he was about to start doing the dishes when he heard a knock on the door.

Sighing, he threw the sponge back into the sink. Making the way to the door, he checked the wall clock. He knew it wasn't Kimiko, since she always came home at seven.

Opening the door, he found himself staring at the last person on earth that he wanted to see. "What are you doing here?" he demanded. From the corner of his eyes, he saw his sister looking at the door. He swore he saw his sister gasp.

"The bigger question is; what are you trying to pull?" Standing in front of him, Keiko had her arms crossed. "Because if this is your last resort in trying to hurt me… then you win, Pedrosa."

* * *

><p>Hmm, okay. That's chapter 4, folks. Since people kept on asking when the next chapter comes out, I decided to work on it. Right now, I need to get the story flowing again. Sorry that I have to leave it as a cliffhanger. I just keep on having so many ideas that kind of clashes with each other or doesn't work with each other at all.<p>

Sorry for the late update. I really am sorry. I've just been busy for the last few weeks with projects, homework, sleeping late, waking up early, and trying to spend some time with my friends (my schedule is so busy!).

Also, sorry for the lack of RaiKim. Someone had given me a great idea, and I'm trying to find a way to work it into the story. Plus, I have such a writer's block for this fanfic... due to how long it took for me to update. I'll try to update as soon as possible (and not take as long as it took to post this chapter to post chapter 5).

**Comment/review? It'll be very much appreciated!**

**And if you have any ideas/suggestions for what to happen next, leave them in the comments.**


	5. Finding Things Out

**Chapter 5: Finding Things Out**

"Are you sure that Keiko picked these out for me to try on?" Clay asked, wincing at the sight of at least forty suits that were lying on the barcalounger. He was inside the studio where Kimiko was working at, thinking up ways of trying to leave the place faster. He felt out of place and it made him feel uneasy.

"_Yes_," Kimiko replied, stifling her giggles. "But I added in a few of my favorites that I'd know you'd look dashing in."

He let out an exaggerated sigh before saying, "I must be very crazy if I'm letting the two of you treat me like a doll."

Kimiko shrugged. "Better than Keiko freaking out on you the day before the wedding and have a meltdown, thinking it's a sign from God that you two shouldn't be together."

He snorted. "We've been together for so long, Kim. I doubt she would think that."

Kimiko's face perked up. "How long _have_ you two been together, anyway?" she asked, raising a brow at him. "Keiko's usually so hush, hush when it comes to that."

He frowned, his blue eyes crinkling. "Really? That's odd." He scratched his chin before saying, "We met in high school. I asked her out towards the end of freshman year. We've been together ever since."

"Aww," Kimiko said, a smile appearing on her face. "So you two are high school sweethearts?"

Clay nodded. "I guess—yeah." He smiled, a grin appearing on his face. "I never thought of it that way before." He picked up a powder blue suit from the pile and made a face at her. "Really?"

She laughed. "C'mon, Clay. It goes great with your eyes."

"Sure… if this was the seventies," Clay retorted, smirking. He handed the suit to her. "But this isn't the seventies. This is _now_."

"Genius," Kimiko replied, sarcasm oozing out of her voice as she clapped her hands.

"I know, I know," he said, giving her a mini-bow. He looked at her before asking, "Do I really have to try them all on?"

-x-

"Are you serious?" Jermaine asked; his eyes widened as he took the seat across from Zoe. He folded his arms across his chest, his mind scattered, all over the place.

"Yup," Zoe said, taking a sip of the Starbucks coffee drink that she had ordered. She sighed as she said, "She just showed up randomly, out of the blues. I was so surprised I nearly dropped Raimundo's bass. But it wasn't like he was going to notice… He was more fixed on the fact that Keiko was at his door."

"Is she insane?" Jermaine sighed, shaking his head. "She's getting married soon—to a great guy. Why is she always trying to stir up some trouble?"

"Because she has issues?" Zoe guessed, shrugging. She set her drink on the table before saying, "Because it always has to be about her?"

Jermaine snorted. "If you think that she's that bad, you should have seen how she was in High School. Queen _bee-_yotch. You're so lucky that you don't have to experience High School with Keiko Ishida."

"I heard that she dated a lot of guys," Zoe said, taking a quick sip of her drink.

"Yup," Jermaine said, nodding. "When she's not dating Clay due to their dumb, on-and-off relationship, she was always with some jock." He was quiet for a few seconds before saying, "She was the reason why Clay left the band."

"I heard about that," Zoe quietly said. She scratched her elbow before saying, "Why though?"

"That's the mystery," Jermaine said, shrugging. "No one knows. I mean, she _loved _being a '_rock_ _star_'s' girlfriend. Whenever she talked to people about Clay, she would say, 'My boyfriend, who's in a band, is amazing.' Something like that."

"You think any of this has to do with Raimundo?" Zoe asked, looking at him. "I mean, Raimundo tells me _everything_. But he got all secretive when it came to Keiko."

"You know, he's kind of the same when it comes to Clay too," Jermaine said. He looked at her. "Oh my god, we should totally be detectives. I can be Sherlock Holmes and you can be Nancy Drew." His eyes sparkled in the lighting from the fixtures above, his face full of excitement.

She rolled her eyes. "Only you can turn a little scooping and sleuthing into something more."

"Are you in or not?"

"I'm in, Holmes."

-x-

"You okay?" Kimiko asked, sitting down on the park bench next to Raimundo. She was holding her clutch and cookie in one hand, a mug of coffee in the other, her purse in her lap. She tilted her head so she could glance at him from the corner of her eyes.

"Just thinking," Raimundo softly replied. He looked over at her, and then said, "So, how come you never told me we knew the same people?"

Her nose scrunched up. "We do?" Her blue eyes crinkled as a frown appeared on her face. "Really?"

He hesitated for a second before nodding. "Clay… Keiko."

"Really?" she asked, frowning again. "They never brought it up… and you never brought it up." She shrugged. "How's a girl supposed to know?"

He laughed. "So, how do you know them?"

"I've been friends with Keiko since I was little," Kimiko said, pondering over the facts. "And I've met Clay recently… which reminds me, I have some hilarious photos of Clay in the most ridiculous tuxes and suits I could find. It took him a while before he realized that all of the ridiculous suits were picked by me."

He couldn't help but chuckle. "Do you have the photos on you?"

"As a matter of fact, I do," Kimiko replied. She looked at him. "Do you mind?" She extended her hand, and he quickly took her clutch, cookie, and mug out of her hands. She quickly dig through her purse and pulled out a giant, bulky black camera.

She quickly turned it on and pressed a button, allowing her to go through the photos that she had taken.

He couldn't help but laugh at the sight of Clay in the powder blue suit, posing in many provocative ways. "He's still a goofball, as always." He looked at her. "You know, you have great photography skills."

She felt her face redden as she nodded. "My mother was a photographer before she passed away. She taught me a few tricks as a kid." She knew that her face was burning due to the fact that he was staring at her. Trying to distract herself of the fact that she was blushing madly, she added, "I like to take photos of moments in my life that I want to keep with me forever."

He nodded. He took a bite of her cookie, before adding, "Are you going to drink this?" he asked, gesturing to the mug in his right hand.

"Have some," she said, grinning. "I mean, you're already eating the cookie."

"Trust me, the cookie's not that good," he replied. "I'm doing you a favor by getting rid of it for you."

She couldn't help but giggle.

"What?" he asked, slightly confused to why she was giggling at him.

"That was a dog cookie—a dog treat," she said, laughing at him.

He couldn't help but choke on his drink. "Wait, what? Oh good God." He quickly began to chug down the rest of the coffee, before turning to face her, making a face as he realized that he had finished the coffee and he still had the taste of the dog treat in his mouth.

She snorted, fiddling with the many buttons on her camera. She lifted the camera up to her face and turned to Raimundo. She quickly took a photo of him, blinding him in the camera's flashing light.

"What was that for?" he asked, wiping the coffee mustache off of his upper lip.

"I want to remember _this _moment forever," she said, laughing at him.

He scowled at her. "Delete it! I will not have my girlfriend be reminded of the time that her boyfriend ate a dog treat."

"Girlfriend?" Kimiko looked at him with a hopeful look on her face. "Really?"

"Yeah," he said, nodding at her as he fished a water bottle out of his messenger bag. "Why not?" He quickly took a swig of water from the bottle in hopes of getting rid of the taste in his mouth. He soon found himself blinded by the camera's flashing light. "What was that for?"

"Because future me will one day want to look back at the time this one guy was insane enough to become her boyfriend," she said, grinning at him.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Sorry for the late-late-_late _update. I got writer's block for this story, and then I got kind of lazy, and then the two of them combined… and then I totally forgot about this. I really, really, really, _really_ am sorry. I will try to update this one soon, as long as I'm not busy and get writer's block.

Plus, I was busy reading _The Hunger Games _trilogy the week after I last updated this, which isn't a good excuse (but I was too busy having my emotions all over the place after finishing the book series in three days).

I'm so sorry for all of you guys for having to wait on me—I know how it feels to wait _forever _for someone to update.

Anyways, I'm still trying to figure out the basics for this story so I can know where this is heading… The second I have it written down—instead of having it stored in my memory (I have a bad memory, which is why I always forget things which leads to my writer's block)—I will be updating this regularly/weekly.

Thank you for all of those who have been telling me to update this, reminding me that people actually do read this. Thank you for not sending me threatening messages to update this. Thank you for reading this in the first place. Basically, thank you. :D

**Comment/review? It'll be very much appreciated!**


	6. And The Trouble Begins

**Chapter 6: And The Trouble Begins**

"Keiko, I hate this job," Kimiko shouted, loud enough to startle the janitor—who was the only other person in the building, besides her.

"Kimiko?"

"Yes," Kimiko sighed. She glanced at the clock from the corner of her eyes. She grumbled, biting on her lower lip the second she saw the time. She returned her attention to the cabinets in front of her. "I should be home, sleeping—but _no_. I have to organize _everything, _just because she's too lazy to do it herself."

"Kimiko." Keiko muttered, loud enough to snap Kimiko out of her ranting.

"Yes?"

"You're her assistance," Keiko pointed out. She let out a yawn before continuing. "You should just take your papers home with you—"

"She said I can't," Kimiko murmured. "I think she has it out for me or something… I don't know why… but who really drinks so much coffee every day? I mean, isn't that unhealthy for your health or something? And your teeth—"

"Kimiko. If you're going to continue rambling, I'm hanging up on you—"

"Sorry," Kimiko said. "I'll let you go back to sleep, Kei."

"Thank you—"

"Just before you go," Kimiko said, cutting her off. "How come you never told me that you and Clay knew Raimundo?" She slowly opened another cabinet, sighing as she pulled out a stack of binders, folders, and loose leaf documents. She frowned, realizing that Keiko never answered her. "Hello? Is anybody there?" She was about to pull the phone away from her ear and check to see if she was still talking to Keiko when she heard her friend reply.

"Yeah," Keiko coughed. "I'm still here."

"Thank goodness," Kimiko murmured. "For a second, I thought I was talking to myself."

"No. I'm here," Keiko replied, the cheeriness in her voice gone. "And to answer your question, his name never came up once in our conversation."

"It didn't?" Kimiko muttered, slightly shocked. She let out a hissing sound as the papers slid out of her hands. "Keiko—I have to go. My boss is going to _kill _me if I don't get this done. Talk to you later, kay?" She turned off her phone before Keiko even had a chance to reply, and tossed her phone onto her boss's table.

-x-

"Who was that?" Clay murmured, turning to his side so that he was face to face with his fiancée. His blue eyes crinkled as they met her dark brown eyes.

"Oh, just silly old Kimiko," Keiko muttered, tossing her phone onto the nightstand next to her.

"You alright?" Clay asked, his eyes widened with concern. "You don't look so good—"

"I'm fine," Keiko snapped. She froze, shocked at the fact that she had just snapped at him. Her voice softened as she murmured, "I'm just tired, that's all."

Clay shook his head. "You're lying."

Keiko could feel her shoulders tense up. "What do you mean?" She replied, her eyes slightly narrowing. A sour look appeared on her face as she added, "I'm not—"

"I know you're worried about the engagement party tomorrow night, but there's really nothing to be worried about," Clay whispered. "It's just our friends, honey. Nothing to be worried about."

She could feel her facial expressions softened. "You know, Clay… you're a really sweet guy."

"And lucky, too," Clay added. "Or else, how did I snag you?" He pressed his lip against her forehead, giving her a quick kiss.

Keiko could feel her heart beating in her chest, and for a second, she could feel guilt welling deep inside her gut. _I don't deserve him_, she silently thought, trying her best to ignore the feeling of guilt that was deep within her chest.

-x-

She woke up to the sound of knocking on her front door. "It's Saturday," Kimiko cried out, rolling over on her bed to sleep in a more comfortable position than the one she was in previously. It took her a few seconds to register the fact that the second she had gotten home from work, she collapsed onto the bed—without changing her clothes, or taking off her dangerously high heels. "Nobody's home!"

She let out a sigh as she slowly got out of bed. _Who the heck would knock on my door at—_she glanced at the clock in the kitchen and grumbled—_one in the afternoon?_

"I'm coming, I'm coming," she snapped. Brushing her hair out of her face, she pulled her hair back into a sleek, high ponytail. Opening the door, she was shocked to find a strange girl standing in front of her door. "Can I help you?"

"Actually, I think I should be the one who's asking _you _that," the girl replied. She grinned at Kimiko, before adding, "I'm Zoe—Raimundo's little sister." She took a step into her apartment, taking a cursory glance at what was in the apartment before turning her attention back to her.

"I'm sorry," Kimiko said, closing the door behind her. "Raimundo didn't tell me that you were going to come over today—"

"Oh, he doesn't even know I'm over," Zoe replied, smiling at her. She pulled out a pad, which reminded Kimiko of one of those notepads that reporters would use to cover stories or events with. "I have a school assignment, in where I have to write an essay about someone who works in an industry that I would want to work with in the future."

Kimiko opened her mouth. "As much as I'm flattered—I'm an _intern _for someone who works in a fashion industry. If you'd want, I could try to pull some strings to see if you'd get—"

"Doesn't matter," Zoe said, shrugging. "I'd rather interview you… _and _get to know you while I'm at it."

Kimiko couldn't help but feel her cheeks redden. "Oh. You're so sweet. But actually, I'm supposed to get ready for an engagement party—"

"You're going too?" Zoe interrupted, grinning at her.

"Yeah," Kimiko said, nodding as she turned on her coffee machine. "Coffee?"

"Sure," Zoe said, shrugging. She pushed her chestnut brown hair out of her face, revealing her sparkly, sea green eyes. "There's _so many questions _that I have to ask you."

"Gee—that sounds like so much fun," Kimiko replied, sounding somewhat sarcastic.

"I know, right?" Zoe said, practically beaming as she flipped to the first page. "Question one—"

"Wait," Kimiko interrupted, setting one of the two mugs of coffee on the kitchen table. "Sorry for cutting you off and all… but... how many questions are there?"

"A lot."

"And how much is 'a lot?'" Kimiko asked, raising one of her eyebrows. She was stirring her mug of coffee with a silver spoon, trying her best not to grimace.

"A lot, a lot."

-x-

"So, what did you find about her, _Holmes_?" Jermaine asked as he tugged on his tie. He felt so uncomfortable not being in his normal attire—a giant t-shirt and a pair of basketball shorts—that he felt as if ants were crawling on him. He was staring at Keiko, who was talking to a couple of her coworkers from the elementary school that she worked at.

"All I found out is that Kimiko is the nicest person ever, the second she's fully awake and not so tired and weary anymore," Zoe said, sighing. "All I know is, my brother does _not _deserve a girl like her. Actually, he does. Keiko's the one who doesn't deserve Kimiko as a friend. And she totally does not deserve Clay."

"Shh," Jermaine hissed, motioning her to be quiet as one of Clay's coworkers walked by. "The last thing we need is for someone to tell Clay or Keiko what we're saying about them."

Zoe rolled her eyes. "Keep an eye out if you see the h'orderves, let me know because I just _love _those crab flakes…" She stopped the second she realized that Jermaine walked off. "Jermaine!" she hissed, immediately going off in his direction, following him.

"What's going—" Jermaine immediately shushed her, causing her to scowl at him.

"I've been keeping an eye on Keiko the second she showed up with Clay," Jermaine muttered. "She's disappeared—"

"Are you serious?" Zoe's eyebrows furrowed together as her lip formed a straight line. "That's not good at all." Zoe sighed. "If only we could trust my brother enough to know that he's not going to do anything stupid."

"Too bad we don't trust him," Jermaine murmured, sighing as he shook his head. He glanced at her from the corner of his eyes. "Do we?"

"We don't," Zoe said, shaking her head. "If we did, you wouldn't be Drew and I wouldn't be Holmes," she added.

"Drew?"

"Yeah… as in _Nancy Drew_," Zoe added, giggling. She immediately went silent. "He's walking away. Follow him!"

"Follow who?" Jermaine asked, confused. He glanced at Zoe for an answer.

"My brother!" Zoe replied, exasperated. She threw her hands in the air. "Only he can be the reason why we even bothered to get ourselves involved with… _her_. Now, c'mon. I don't have all day and we're not getting any younger."

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Sorry for the late update. Right now, I've been extremely (to the max) busy and so my brain wasn't given time to think up of something to happen for this story. I did not forget about this story—I've just been overwhelmed with a lot of things lately.

Plus, I was going to update _Bittersweet Love _before this fic, but I started procrastinating (as I was working on the next chapter for _Bittersweet Love _on more than 3 computers) and the next thing I knew, time went by pretty quickly.

This isn't a good update—and for that, I'm sorry. I didn't have enough time to add more to this chapter, as I have a lot of homework (and I'm currently putting it off just to type this). Also, sorry for grammar mistakes/spelling mistakes (if there are any) as I didn't have any time to correct. And this is why I shouldn't update once every month or so. I need to go back to updating weekly.

The next chapter will be up by the end of this week/beginning of the next week, I promise you that.

Thank you for those who have the patience to wait for me to update—you guys rock. And thank you for those who commented, telling me to update just to remind me that there are people waiting for the next chapter. It'll get better—the next chapter. I promise you that.

**Comment/Review? It'll be very much appreciated.**


	7. Revelation

**Chapter 7: ****Revelation**

Zoe's eyes were narrowed as she made her way through the back door, which lead her to the kitchen of the hotel. A few people shot her confused or dirty looks, but she ignored them. "Has anybody seen a girl—well, obviously, you all have at one point—but the bride-to-be—has anybody seen her?"

A few people were kind enough to shake their heads.

"Afraid so," Zoe muttered to herself. Pulling out her cell phone, she quickly texted Jermaine as she made her way back to the rented ballroom. She quickly spotted Jermaine waving his arms frantically in the air, trying to get her attention. She would have made her way over to him, but she felt someone's hand on her shoulder. Looking over her shoulder, she let out a sigh of relief when she realized that it was just Clay's younger sister, Jessie Bailey.

"What's going on?" Jessie asked, jutting her chin towards Jermaine's direction. "I mean, I've been standing here for the past five minutes and I watched him run back and forth through that door until you showed up."

Zoe immediately held her breath. "You wouldn't like it—"

"Try me," Jessie said. "Is it about Keiko?"

"How do you—"

"Please," Jessie said, shaking her head. "I have never liked that girl from the start." She pushed her blond hair out of her face before adding, "My brother—even though I hate him half the time—deserves better than her. There's something off about her that doesn't make me trust her."

"You said it," Zoe said. She let out a sigh as she tucked her hair behind her ear. "Look, if I let you in to what Jermaine and I know, you'll have to promise not to tell Clay anything. Deal?"

Jessie's blue eyes crinkled as a smirk appeared on her face. "Deal."

-x-

Kimiko could feel her phone vibrating in her purse as it went off for the sixteenth time. She had her arms folded against her chest, waiting for Raimundo to come back with the drinks he had said he would get a few minutes back. Tapping her foot impatiently on the ground, she couldn't help but wonder, _is it that hard to get a couple of drinks? _

"I'm glad that you've made it," a voice behind her boomed, causing her to jump.

She turned around and found herself staring at a muscular chest. Looking up, her face quickly lit up at she realized that it was Clay. "Boy, am I glad to see a familiar face," she said. She reached for the drink in his hand and quickly downed it, without even bothering to see what it was. To her relief, it was just lemon soda.

"Well, I'm glad that you're glad," Clay said, nodding at her. "From the way Keiko talks about you, I thought you would have been too busy to make it."

She couldn't help but giggle the second she realized that his normally messy hair was gelled back. "Well," she said, in between giggles, "I wouldn't. Keiko would either have a cow that I didn't show up, or she'd make sure I'd never forget if I never showed up. And since I didn't want to risk getting either scenario, I decided to come. Besides, I'm the maid of honor. It would look bad on my part if I didn't show up."

Clay couldn't help but grin. "I wanted to introduce you to my sister," he said, as he took the cup from her hand. He placed it onto the tray of one of the passerby waiters, who looked alarmed the second the cup was slapped onto his tray. He made a _hmmf _noise, followed by a scowl before disappearing into the crowd of people who were chit-chatting amongst one another.

"You have a sister?" Kimiko said, sounding very shocked. "I didn't know that. Keiko never told me you had a sister." She tried to imagine what Clay's sister would look like, but all she could picture was a more feminine version of Clay, but with lipstick. She shuddered at the thought and returned her attention to Clay. For some strange, odd reason, she couldn't get the image of Clay with lipstick out of her head.

"Well, the two of them don't get along," Clay said as he stuffed both of his hands into his pants pockets. "Keiko is a kind of person where it takes a while for her to open up to people, you know?"

Kimiko nodded. "And your sister on the other hand?"

"She's quick to judge people," Clay finished, looking at her from the corner of his eyes. "Well, not really. Mama raised us not to be so closed-minded. But for some reason, Jessie doesn't get along with Keiko."

"Who doesn't get along with Keiko?" a young girl asked. She looked at Kimiko. "I'm pretty sure he was talking about me, Jessie Bailey." She extended her hand. "I'm Clay's little sister."

Kimiko's lips curled into a big smile. She was glad that Clay's sister, Jessie, didn't look as how she would have expected—or else, she would have started to crack up really badly. Jessie had her brother's blue eyes and the same pale-blond colored hair, but that was the only things that the two of them had in common. Jessie was short, compared to her brother, who was tall in comparison. She was slim, while her brother was well-built and muscular. And she had a look on her face that made it obvious that her brother was the softer, sweeter one between the both of them.

"I was just telling the truth," Clay said, smirking at his younger sister.

"Good," Jessie said. She looked at Kimiko. "Is it true that you're dating Zoe's older brother?" Her arms were crossed, folded against her chest.

"You're dating Raimundo?" Clay said; sounding extremely shocked. Even his baby-blue eyes were wide, alarmed even.

"Not a lot of people know," Kimiko said, shrugging. "I was going to tell you, but your sister beat me to it."

Jessie looked at her brother. "I didn't mean to upset you—"

"I'm not upset," Clay said, shaking his head. "I'm just… surprised." A warm, gentle smile appeared on his face. "It doesn't matter. As long as you're happy—and he's happy—then I'm glad for you—for the both of you."

Kimiko couldn't help but blush. "Well, thank you Clay."

"And tell Raimundo that if he hurts you—emotionally, or physically, I'll be personally glad to kick his—"

"Clay!" Jessie cut him off, a shocked look on her face. She looked at Kimiko. "He's not the kind of person who likes to use 'vulgar' language," she said, laughing. "He must really care about you."

Kimiko smiled at Clay. "Well, thank you Clay. And if he does, I'll make sure you're the first one I call."

-x-

"What did you wanted to talk to me about?" Raimundo asked, his arms crossed as he followed Keiko through the entrance of the hotel. The two of them stood in the hallway near the stairways, where their conversation could be drowned out from people who were passing by.

Keiko's eyes narrowed as she quickly said, "You know what I want to talk about."

Raimundo let out a sigh. "Is it even safe enough to talk about it _here_?"

"You have a better idea? Even if I suggest another place, you'd just go back to ignoring me," Keiko pointed out. "And I'm done with you ignoring me—"

"That's great," Raimundo said, surprised with how sarcastic his words came out, "but I'm not. So, if you'd excuse me—"

"_Raimundo_!" she snapped; her voice so shrill that everybody around them went quiet. The look on her face softened as she slowly said, "Please. Just let me explain."

"What if I don't want you to explain?" Raimundo said. "Have you ever stopped caring about yourself for just one second to see that I'm happy now?"

"Please just let me—"

"Did you know that I've moved on a _long_ time ago?" Raimundo added, gesturing to himself with the thumb of his right hand. "In fact, I'm quite happy with my girlfriend. Who knows, we might become very serious one of these days, and I—" He stopped the second he realized that she had burst out in tears. "What's wrong?" he asked, slowly getting closer to her. He stopped before he got to close, and mentally kicked himself for feeling sorry for her.

"Will you just let me explain?" she finally said, her voice close to a whisper. "I—you never let me explain, and it's hurting me, Raimundo. We used to be best friends, or did you forget that?"

Raimundo could feel his shoulder—along with the rest of his body—going tense. "I—"

"It doesn't matter," Keiko said, wiping her eyes with the back of her hands. "Because you hate me, now. I can see it in your eyes—"

"I don't hate you," Raimundo said.

"Rai," she softly said, calling him by the nickname he had once loved to hear, but has now come to hate. "I never meant to hurt you—I was an idiot back then. A very, very, _very _shallow girl who only thought about herself. But I've changed."

"Is that why you came to my doorstep a while back, bringing back all the drama with you, and freaking out my sister at the same time?" Raimundo said, surprised with how sarcastic he sounded again. He narrowed his eyes before adding, "Or did you forget?"

-x-

Zoe dropped her purse out of shock at how cold and distance her brother sounded. She glanced up at Jermaine, who had a shocked look on his face. "I didn't know my brother could be quite a jerk."

"He has his reasons," Jermaine said, clearing his throat. "I can't believe I forgot," he finally said, smacking his forehead with the palm of his forehead.

"Forgot what?" Zoe asked, glancing up at him. The two of them were hiding behind one of the many potted plants that the hotel had strategically placed around the hotel.

"That when Keiko was dating Clay, Raimundo had feelings for her," Jermaine said.

"Wait, what?" Zoe snapped, causing a few people around them to shoot dirty looks at them. "Sorry!" she hissed, shrugging at those who were staring at them. "I just found out that there's some creep on the loose that's breaking into hotel rooms and going through people's personal items." She watched a few people scurry off before turning her attention back to Jermaine. "Seriously, though. What?"

"I'm not kidding," Jermaine said, rubbing the nape of his neck. "I'm not sure what happened, though. I was the new kid that year. All I could remember was that Clay and Raimundo were best of friends up until the point where Clay found out something about his best bud, and it resulted in them not being friends anymore."

"Can you be any more specific?" Zoe asked, looking at him. "I mean, what you're telling me is very vague. For all we know, Clay and Raimundo stopped being friends because Clay found out what a loser my brother is."

Jermaine shook his head. "My theory is, when we were all still in high school, I think Keiko knew that your brother had feelings for her. And I think she used it to her advantage, or some sort." He let out a sigh.

Zoe couldn't help but sigh along. "Raimundo… what happened?" she muttered to herself. "We need to get to the bottom of this."

"Aren't we already trying to do that?" Jermaine asked, sounding rather confused.

"Well, now we have a bigger reason why we need to get to the bottom of this," Zoe hissed. "And we might need to bring Jessie into this."

"That's great," a female voice behind them said. The two of them turned around and found themselves staring at Clay's younger sister, Jessie. "Because I'm game if you two are game."

Jermaine and Zoe exchanged looks. "We're game," Zoe said, answering for the two of them.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Okay, I know I was supposed to update last week, but a few unexpected things happened that week that delayed this chapter. Plus, I was freaking out over a few things (school related). Now that that's out of the way, my mind is cleared (sort of) and so I can go back to working on my fanfics and other stuff.

I'll make sure to post the next chapter soon.

I think Jessie Bailey (Clay's little sister) is about Zoe's age, give or take. Maybe a year older.

And yes, I really want to explore the brother-sister relationship that Clay and Kimiko has, because I really love the bond that they shared on the show.

Anyways, I don't want to bore you with any longer… so:

**Thank you for reading! Comment/review? It'll be very much appreciated!**


	8. Conflicted

**Chapter 8: Conflicted**

Raimundo found himself staring at the ceiling, counting the dots that were splayed across the tile above him. Ever since his encounter with Keiko, he couldn't help but feel guilty. Angry was a better term for it. For most of his life, he had been strung along by her, and now that he has finally moved on, she found her way to weasel her way into his life once again.

Truth was, he shouldn't be bothered by this at all. He was happy with Kimiko. And he didn't really want to lose her; especially after how many constant reminders from Jermaine and his sister, Zoe, over the fact that Kimiko was such a great girl.

But despite how much he has moved on, there was still a part of him, the younger, stupider teenage part of him that he had grown out of, which is still hung around Keiko. Feeling even more conflicted and confused, he let out an anguished scream before muffling his face with the other pillow that was lying by his head.

-x-

"I hate my boss," Kimiko hissed, as she pulled her coat over her arm as she quickly ran out of the elevator the second the door opened. "Honestly, who calls their employees at five in the morning over a 'fashion crisis?'" she muttered to herself in honest disbelief, before clashing into an innocent bystander, causing papers to fly everywhere.

"Oh my gosh—I'm so sorry!" she immediately blabbered, reaching around to grab papers that were circling around her.

"It was my fault, honestly," the blonde replies. She had a grin on her face as she said, "I should have realized from the way that you were marching that you were obviously one of Dominique's." The girl then added, "She's the worst, isn't she?"

Kimiko couldn't help but laugh. "Yes."

"I'm Ashley," the girl said, as she gathered the rest of the papers from Kimiko's hand. "Former employee for Dominique until she realized who my boyfriend was and shifted me into a better department." Looking at how dishevel Kimiko's clothing were, she quickly asked, "Let me guess. Fashion crisis?"

"Yes! How did you know?"

"She pulls that bullshit whenever she wants coffee, but she's too lazy to go and get it herself."

Kimiko's left eye twitched. "She just wanted coffee?"

"If I were you, honey, I'd quit this job—"

"I can't," Kimiko instantly cut her off. "I have to prove a point to my dad."

"Ah," Ashley laughed. "At least you have one ally here, if you ever decide to have a mutiny against her."

Kimiko laughed. "Where were you when I first started working here?"

-x-

"Wow, you look terrible," Jermaine commented, watching as the lead singer of his band slumped into the seat beside him.

"Thanks," Raimundo replied sarcastically. He yawned, before resting his chin on the palm of his hand.

"Is this about Keiko?" Jermaine finally asked, after a few seconds of silence had passed between the both of them. Seeing the look of protest in Raimundo's eyes, he continued on. "Well, look man. I'm your best friend. And I've been your best friend since we both learned to walk as babies. That's how long we've been best of amigos, buddy." He took a deep breath, before continuing on. "I knew how long you've liked Keiko; and that was since junior high. And I remember how hung up you were after she dumped you and went for Clay."

"But you have to remember," he pressed on, "while she was with Clay, she kept on stringing you along with hope that if she was ever to break up with Clay, which she did a lot, she would get back with you, which she never did."

Raimundo stared at his friend in stunned silence. "Wow, you, um… you sure do know a lot about my relationship with Keiko. I don't know how I should feel about that."

"Feel glad that somebody's looking out for you," Jermaine whispered, patting his friend on the back.

"I—thanks?"

"You're welcome, buddy," Jermaine whispered, still patting his back.

"Jermaine?"

"Hmm?"

"Stop that."

Jermaine immediately pulled his hand away from Raimundo's back. "Sorry!"

Raimundo let out a sigh. "Jermaine, I'm glad to know that you're there for me. Really, I truly am. But you honestly have no idea what went down—"

"And that's why you should tell me—"

"But whatever went down that day… that's between me and Keiko."

"And Clay," Jermaine pointed out.

"And Clay," Raimundo repeated, staring at his friend in slight confusion.

-x-

Keiko Ishida was fuming as she paced back and forth in her apartment. She had taken a sick day, in order to go over last minute preparations for her wedding. While she should have been in pure bliss as her wedding was around the corner, she couldn't help but be angry about everything. She was hurt.

Raimundo Pedrosa was the boy that she loved and lost. It shouldn't even be bothering her that he's moved on, but it did. She knew she was being petty and childish, but she couldn't help it. Raimundo was always there for her; he was her safety net; he was the one that she could always count on. And to see him move on with _her best friend_, it dawns on her that he's not always going to be there for her.

She took a deep breath, before sitting down on the couch behind her. She was conflicted between feeling upset or happy for Raimundo.

And then she couldn't help but think about Clay, and then she felt guilt consume her.

-x-

"The only way to keep anything from falling apart is to understand what the hell happened in the first place," Jessie muttered, staring at the ground between her and Zoe.

Zoe nodded. "The problem is that we were both eight when all of this happened. I can't even remember what I did this morning, so how can I remember something that happened seven, eight years ago?"

"You make a good point," Jessie murmured in replied. Her face was blank for a second, before it became animated as she nearly shouted, "Why don't we ask our brothers?"

"No offence, but that's the dumbest thing I've ever heard," Zoe replied. She folded her arm against her chest. "Rai tells me everything… but when it comes to Keiko, he gets so quiet and spaces out."

"Is it unrequited love?" Jessie asked.

"Hmm? Oh, hells no. He does not have unrequited feelings for Keiko. The second he realizes this is the second he can truly move on. I think it's more of the fact that he was so crazy about her for so long that he can't quickly move on."

"But then he met Kimiko," Jessie pointed out. "I'm going to be awfully sorry the second he breaks her heart."

"If."

"You sure have a lot of faith in your brother that he's not going to mess things up."

"Of course he's not going to mess things up," Zoe said, sounding slightly offended that Jessie didn't have the same amount of faith that she does in her brother. She let out a sigh of annoyance. "Ugh, I'm just scared of what could happen."

"Aren't we all?"

-x-

"Were you waiting for me to get home from work?" Kimiko asked, finding herself surprised to see Raimundo sitting at her doorstep. The smug look that was on her face had vanished the second she saw the troubled look on his face. "Is everything alright?"

Before she could even ask anything else, she was quickly embraced with the biggest bear hug she has ever received. "Rai?" she asked.

"Please don't leave me," he finally said, after a moment of silence had past between the two of them.

She was surprised to hear the rawness of his voice in his soft, quiet plea. "I—I won't. Of-of course not. Is everything okay?"

"Everything is now," he quietly replied, resting his chin on her forehead.

* * *

><p><strong>AN**. Wow. It has been _over_ a year since this has been updated. Wow. I can't believe it. Thank you to the people who have private messaged me and reminded me to update this story, because _wowie_, it's been a year and I can't believe my laziness got to me.

Hmm. Well, thank you to all of those who keep on reminding me to update this story. Because wow, I finally did. Now I have to reread and update my other XS story! (This one gets to be updated first because this story isn't fully developed and fleshed out like the other one!)

Ashley is Katnappe, btw. (Jack Spicer has yet to appear in this story!) You'll get to see her more when this story starts to explore Kimiko's job/workplace a lot more.

**Comment/review? It'll be very much appreciated!**


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